“The mayor has been in a political environment where you have to make tough choices of making cuts and presenting balanced budgets,” he said.

Beattie also pointed out the poll shows Brown leading all four hypothetical candidates.

But Binder and others said those numbers could be a concern to Brown.

In each of the four head-to-head races, Brown polled in the 40s, which “for an incumbent, isn’t great,” Binder said.

In addition, about 25 percent of those polled said they would either vote for someone else, didn’t know which candidate they would pick or had no answer.

Binder said that shows a lot of people haven’t made up their minds about Brown, who’s been in office nearly two years. “If they haven’t made up their mind about you — and they know you — that could be a problem,” he said.

Bill Gulliford and Lenny Curry, both of whom were included in the poll as opponents, agreed with Binder.

“I think people are starting to see through him. I think they are seeing there is no substance,” said Gulliford, who is president of the council. “There’s a lot of talk, photo opps and showmanship, but nothing’s happening.”

Curry, who is president of the Republican Party of Florida, said the numbers show Brown’s “lack of leadership.”

“It’s one thing to be liked, it’s another thing to lead,” Curry said. “There’s this whole discussion about the next level. What does the next level mean? We’re two years into this and we don’t know.”

Binder said the mayor’s numbers can go up again if he “stems the bleeding” by having a budget that “doesn’t cause too much pain,” having good negotiations with the council and by solving the pension problem or making big efforts in reducing how much of the general fund is used for pension.